People with ADHD are different, but still...

Jul 30, 2011
So to promote special needs a great site has been started, and Saturday's are filled with postings about special needs kids.

Check out the Special Saturday website!

Taken from the about page of their site:

So what is Special Saturday?
Special Saturday is a group of people who want to raise awareness about children and adults with special needs. We aim to do this by devoting every Saturday to informing and spreading the news to as many people globally as we can about both the difficulties we face raising our children or by having special needs AND how amazing our special children are including their achievements.


This Saturday we are to either do a blog post, or tweet "People with ... are different, but still ..." I decided to add a post to my blog.

So, here goes. Children with ADHD/PDD-NOS are different, but still are children, like any others. I know my daughter can be strange when she acts like an animal when it isn't really called for. She can focus on one thing for a very long time (orca's have been her favourite animal since she was 2 years old). Her mind can wander and she may not pay attention when you need her too. School work is sometimes more difficult for her, because her memory doesn't work the way other kid's memories do. She doesn't really have any friends, because she doesn't act like her peers. Her anger can be worst than any adult I have ever seen. She can throw things, and scream and call me names, but she is still an 11 year old girl.

My daughter loves to have her nails done, and will sit quite still for that. My daughter loves books and movies, and can read for hours at a time. She loves having her hair done, and checking out the latest fashions. Rosy has a crush on a boy (well many actually, including Justin Bieber). She can kick your butt at some of the board games we have too. Rosy would be an awesome best friend, if someone would be there for her too (and not tease her when her back is turned). Watch out, cause she can pretend like no other (writing or play acting stories all the time). She has dreams to be a vet, or marine biologist, or an actress one day. Seems to me that she is very similar to most 11 year old girls out there! Just give her a chance to show how she can love like you can, play like you can, and pretend like you can. Yes, she is different in some ways, but she is the same in many others!

*This post was written as a part of SPECIAL SATURDAY which promotes awareness of special needs. Check it out on Facebook – Spec-sat bloggers, and on Twitter @SpecSat using the hastag #specialsaturday.

Will She Sleep?

Jul 29, 2011
Rosy had an awesome day and was able to play a game with us in the evening, and didn't have any issues. Evening time can be rough with her getting either really wired, or negative about everything. We played Life Twists and Turns (great, cause you don't have to keep track of the money), and Rosy won! I then asked her to take her bunny out and she had no problem with that and took him outside. Usually she says, no, or starts to get upset because she wants to play with her Barbie's or something. Tonight she was great, and said, "okay Mom," and got right to it.

So now the question is, will she get to sleep in better time than the last few nights? I'm hoping so. I have to get up there and see if the light is on or not. Off to do that now, but did you notice???...

Two posts in one day! I'm working on this! I would love to post here a little more often, and maybe get some posts about what we are dealing with, as well as some stuff about ADHD, etc. That's my plan anyway. I also hope to do a study of the Bible, and post my thoughts here too. Just have to figure out which study to do, and go from there.

Well, off to check on the light situation, and have a relaxing evening with hubby! Good night all!

Monday = Long Weekend!

Well, it's a long weekend! YAY! Hubby gets to stay home on Monday. Sad part is, he may have to work a little tomorrow. Oh well, it will only be a few hours if he does.

So I prayed a little and asked about the drugs that Rosy is on. I emailed the dr too. After talking to another mom, and reading the dr's email, I figured I might as well try another drug with her. We had to refill the other prescription, so why not try a new one. I, of course, would rather not to have her on drugs, but boy there is a big difference when she is on them. I can rationalize with her, and that's something I was never able to do. Today she started Adderall (10mg). She really wanted to use the Biphentin (I think she thought that she would have to swallow a pill). I opened up the Adderall pill to sprinkle the granules on something, and it turns out that the granules are really tiny (loving that). Rosy saw how small they are, and was excited. I put it on the spoon for her with a little sorbet, and she swallowed it all with no problems! The granules in the Biphentin are larger (3X more) and she always had to chase them down with a few gulps of water.

It's now 2:00pm and she has a friend over. She seems to be doing fine, so we will see how the evening goes. That has been the harder time for us. She has had some attitude, but I'm thinking that is going to be "normal" with her. I think it helps that she has a friend over too. We will have to see how she is over the weekend.

So I hope those of you that have a long weekend this weekend, have a great one!

Wordless Wednesday

Jul 27, 2011
Just a quick word about this. It is my first wordless Wednesday, and I am posting two pictures of my kids:
Rosy and her Kobo
Sam and Kobo
Flash kicking the ball
Matt kicking ball

Another week of summer...

Jul 25, 2011
Well here it is, another week of summer. Today went pretty well. Rosy did get quite upset about a kid who was over playing with Flash. She blamed him for something, that he may or may not have done (of course, I was not in the room at the time). I was able to calm her down, but it was still hard to watch her get so teary eyed, and get so frustrated.

My problem now, is deciding about changing the meds. Well, we have to refill her prescription, or get her the other meds. That's something I need to decide quickly (4 more pills left). I'm still working out my prayer life. Some days I will pray, and some days, I seem to forget, or just don't. So I think this is something I need to pray about with hubby and I need to email the doctor again, to get her input on this. I'll let you know how that goes.

I'm still finding some issues with negativity too. Is that her, or is it the meds, or is it something else? Ugh...this is tough. Thankfully I have a friend who's son is ADHD, and so we chat about it a lot. It's been a real help. I really think an ADHD support group is needed in my area, but need to find out more info on how to start one. Another thing for my list of things to do.

Flash is now acting out a lot more too. I think he has seen his sister get away with things (cause I finally gave up - I didn't want to fight her anymore), and so he thinks he can get away with similar things. Oh the joys! He's learning the hard way, that we won't give in to him, and he doesn't like it. lol

So tomorrow is a new day, and I will pray and email the doctor, and just go where God leads me. I hope you are all having a good week so far. Will post more soon!

Blogging for Ayn

Jul 22, 2011
I am so saddened by this case, that I had to post something about. A little girl named Ayn has been taken away from her loving family and put in foster care. The problem is that she has autism, and the ministry felt that they were "helping" the family by taking her out of their home. The dad, Derek, is a loving father to three kids (two of which have severe autism). All he wants is his little girl home. You can read all about the story all over the internet now, but I wanted to add a blog post to help get the word out there.
Here is one of the best links to get all the info:
Blog for Ayn

I have had children's aid out to my house three times now, and hate that they have become involved in our lives. The first time, was when Rosy came forward about her sexual assault. It was important that CAS become involved, and I gladly accepted their help then. The second time, was for an over reaction on my part and for my lovely daughter imbelishing a story a little bit. I had tried to grab her out from under the bed, and had pulled her hair in the process (I didn't intend too, of course, but crap happens). When dealing with a child who didn't want to go to school, and was telling me off (and we didn't know about the diagnosis of ADHD at that point), well things escalated and we both were yelling at each other. It was a frustrating day to say the least. Well, CAS came and told us that we were not to spank our child, yada yada yada. She then quickly closed the case. Still you wonder what they are thinking and what they are going to do, and you get anxious and stressed, and it's just no fun.

The third time (just a couple of months ago now), CAS came out, because hubby had spanked Rosy on the bare bum (a neighbour must have seen it through the window). Now, before you get upset at him, he had witnessed a pastor friend of his do this with his children years ago, and they all turned out to be wonderful God fearing grownups. He was not doing it in anger at the time (he was angry, but had put that aside), and he was using it as a last resort with her. We had tried a few time outs and removing of privileges, and removing toys from her room, and to no avail. I can't even remember what the argument was about, but she was on her being very stubborn, and trying to get her way about something. The spank was enough to get her to finally stop yelling at us, and to calm down a bit, so that we could discuss things a little more rationally. Again, this was before her diagnosis of ADHD/PDD-NOS. Again, stress and anxiety big time goes along with the visit.

Now, I have to admit that they are being very helpful now, and even paid for a week of camp for each of my children. They are trying to get supports for us, and that has been amazing. Once they found out her diagnosis, things drastically changed. It was them against us at first, and now they on our side and trying to get whatever support they can get. I have to be thankful for that. I will be truthful, and say that I am a little frustrated that they are in our lives, but hey I have to look at the pluses right now, and not worry.

For this family, the stress they all must be going through....I just can't imagine! I pray that this is rectified very quickly and that little girl goes home very, very soon. I also pray that this doesn't affect her any worse than it probably already has. Taken from school, and not able to see your father for two weeks, has got to be awful. I just pray God's loving arms around her right now, and that He comforts her, when her father can't be there to comfort her. Help them all Father!

What can you do? Check out the above site, and make sure to sign the petition too!
Also, check out the facebook group
Check out the donation site too which was created by fellow blogger Kat Moody.

If you are here in Canada, think about emailing the Prime Minister and others that are listed on the site too. I am planning on doing so.

Here is the info for the Prime Minister:
Stephen Harper Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2
Fax: (613) 941-6900
E-mail: pm@pm.gc.ca

Help where you can, and pray for this family! Thank you!

Why Blog

Jul 19, 2011
I just read a post on Mrs T, Naturally's blog and it got me thinking about why I blog. 
Check out her blog here:


I did mention before that I was blogging to hopefully help others. I figured that if I post about all the issues that we have with our daughter, then someone out there may see the same things in their child, and be able to get help sooner than we did. I am finding that writing about things, has been therapeutic as well. I am not writing as much as I would like to (some days I really wonder if I have a mild form of ADHD myself), but hope to get on a better schedule soon (also would help if my work was a little more regular). Anyway, I'm still hoping that this blog may help someone (even one person) in getting help for their child. Thank you for reading it, those who do. I look forward to "meeting" you all on your blogs too!

To Change Meds or Not?

Jul 17, 2011

That seems to be the question around here. We have been making sure that Rosy is taking the meds, by swallowing all the little beads within a spoonful of sorbet (healthier than ice cream). She does seem focused, but we are still having a lot of issues with her negativity and over reacting to things. She still starts to tear up when she can’t get what she wants. The problem is that Rosy is now reverting back to stamping her feet, and yelling and hitting or throwing things if she doesn’t get her way. I don’t know enough about what to do at this point. I’m still reading lots on ADHD, and getting more input (Short Circuit was the best..lol), but still not knowing exactly how to put my knowledge to good use.

Seems to remind me of my walk with God some days (actually seems like most days). I have great knowledge (doing studies and such), but how to apply what I know is what I am finding difficult. I want to raise my kids with a love for God, and an amazing walk with Him (prayer life too – which is something I have to work on), but how can I help them, when I’m still trying to figure out everything.

Dr. O. gave us a prescription for Adderall, and for a lower dosage of Biphentin. Well I tried a lower dosage of Biphentin, and it seemed that Rosy was worse after camp was done, than any of the other days. So, back to full dosage, and she was a little better. This weekend, we have found it harder, since we have been inside a lot more (can’t have the kids out for too long in the heat wave we are experiencing). Rosy has a couple days of camp this week (which is a sports camp). She enjoyed it last summer, so we will see how she does this week. I will also email the doctor and see what she suggests too. Rosy did seem to get more sleep this week (but she was kept so busy at camp, that I think she was tired), but this weekend wasn’t good. She was up till midnight last night (making it a lazy day today, since I had to be at church early to set up for media stuff – I do the powerpoint stuff during the service on a Sunday or two a month).

Any of you have any ideas? Would love feedback!

Thanks so much! Have a great week all!

Timely Doctor Appointment

Jul 13, 2011

So, I have been waiting to get a phone call from the doctor’s office, as I was on the cancelation list. Monday morning, I got the call! YAY! They had a cancellation that day, and would I be interested in bringing Rosy in at 4:30pm. Of course I was! I was going to email the doctor that morning, but this was much easier and better. I okayed the appointment and then took Rosy to her first day of camp…

She started a camp that is geared for special needs kids on Monday. I was kinda concerned, because she was probably going to be one of a few high functioning kids, and the rest would be more “serious” than her (like down syndrome, and non-verbal autistic). I was glad she was going, because getting exposure to kids that are, hmmm how to put it…. well I can’t figure that one, cause I don’t want to offend anyone! I’m just glad she was seeing other kids, and was going to be able to probably make friends (“normal” kids don’t like her anyway). She has been having a blast! There are lots of counsellors, and only a few kids, so she is getting lots of attention. I’m just so happy. The kids all seem great, and the counsellors seem awesome too.

Anyway, back to the appointment, that was perfectly timed. I had a friend take Flash for a bit (hubby was to pick him up after he finished work), and I headed to the appointment with Rosy. The doctor was on time this time, and we only had to wait about 10 min. No biggie. We talked about the tears, and the lack of sleep. Dr. O. weighed Rosy and measured her height. Well it seems that Rosy has stretched out a bit and has lost weight. No biggie, except I have noticed that the last couple of days she hasn’t been eating very much at all. Dr. O. gave me a prescription for a lower dosage of Biphentin, and also a prescription for Adderall. She talked about Strattera as well, but she doesn’t really like that one as much. Rosy was also chewing the granules too much, so we are to put all the granules on a spoon with ice cream and she is to swallow it all.

So now it’s on to trial and error again. It seems that Rosy is getting to sleep at a better time, but her lack of appetite concerns me a little more now. I have to make an appointment with our family doctor too. I plan on giving it a couple more days, and maybe knocking off some of the granules tomorrow to see if a lower dosage still helps, and if her appetite comes back. Oh the fun of meds!

Have a good one! (Still have yet to figure out a signature for this thing….) Hope to work on that this weekend.

A Crazy Couple of Days

Jul 7, 2011

Well, school has been out for over a week now, and the craziness has begun. I made it through last summer, by just flying along and seeing what would happen next. This summer, I’m hoping to do the same. Yes, no “set” routine for Rosy may not be a good thing, but I’m not one for routine, so how can I get her on a routine. I tried to have someone come and look after the kids on Monday, so I could work (I only had one day of work to do this week – the advantage of my job, the disadvantage, is I’m not making enough to really help). Well, the sitter was not available.

“What to do?”, I thought and probably said out loud, as the phone rang. My sister wanted to know when I was coming to visit. She had taken Monday and Tuesday off (Tuesday for a special reason, and Monday to be with us). Well, that made up my mind. I got the kids packed up and we drove to my sister’s place (2.5 hour drive). The kids were great for the drive (as they always are). The only problem was when Rosy wanted to play on the DS (they have to share one, which is another long story that I’m not going to share at this time). Rosy started to cry, because she wasn’t getting her turn on the DS. I told her that it takes about 2.5 hours to get there, and said that she had to a certain time to wait, and then it would be her turn. She calmed down after that and read a bit. I didn’t understand the crying though…more on that in a minute!

Tuesday came, and Rosy was doing well. My sister has a pool, and my fish..oopss I mean daughter was in the pool for most of the day. My sister spent time with us and on the phone arranging a boat, for a few of us to go out on the lake and throw our brother’s ashes out on the lake (my older brother – well technically half-brother, died in April of this year, and his birthday would have been on the 5th – Tuesday). We had a great day, with a trip into the city to pick up my nephew, and more time in the pool for Rosy, and then a celebration of my brother’s life, with dinner and then a trip out on the lake, and everyone got a chance to throw some ashes out on the lake.

My only concern, is that over the last couple of days, Rosy has been prone to crying when she doesn’t get what she wants. Weird for her. She is also getting very negative and rude (especially to her brother) in the afternoon, evening. I have to tell the dr. about this, I know. I am hoping to get an appointment soon. I will be calling tomorrow to see about getting one. She has been sleeping okay, but I did notice that she tosses and turns a lot (the joy of having to “sleep” in the same bed with her at my sister’s). So we may be needing to change the dosage of the meds, or changing them all together. Should be interesting.

Anyway, this is getting very long. Have a great week! I hope to post more in the coming days.

Signature?? Still have to figure that out as well. Bye for now.

Summer Vacation is Here

Jul 1, 2011
Rosy was feeling a lot better on Wednesday and was able to go to school! I'm so glad. She had a blast, and got soaking wet during the water gun fight. Oh, they had special rules for that too. The kids had to bring the guns in bags, and put them at the teacher's desk first thing. They weren't allowed to play with them in any way, until the "fight", or the gun would be taken away. Plus the janitor was the only one allowed to fill them for the kids. It seemed to go off without a hitch too. I got to the school to get the kids, and found that they were all still wet (Rosy had brought extra clothes, and a towel, thankfully, so she was dry).

So on to yesterday. Our first day off. Rosy didn't want to eat all of her sandwich, it had her medicine sprinkled on it, so she didn't get in all of her meds. I was worried about that. She spent most of the day acting like she was the only one who knew anything. Boy I hate that! Plus staying on the same subject, that has been exhausted is also very frustrating. The kids were talking about ducks and their ears, and that quickly moved on to whales (her favourite subject) and their ears. She was right on all things whales, and pour Flash was wrong. He couldn't be right, so he was dumb. I finally got it all settled, and then it was on to something else that she had to go on and on about. I'm thinking she didn't get enough meds into her, or something else was going on in her head. I'll be able to tell today, because Rosy ate her full sandwich, which means she got her meds (it would be nice if she would just swallow the pills).

Today is a new day, and so we will start fresh. Thankfully hubby is home too, as it's Canada Day! Happy Canada Day, to any Canadian readers! Don't have a lot planned at this point. Flash just asked to go see a movie (Cars 2). We will see. We are not going into Ottawa today though. I would love to get to see the royal couple in person, but it is already really crazy there, and I'm not even dressed yet. We would never get to see them close enough (easier to watch on TV).

So it's off to figure out the day. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!